U.S. patent application number 10/165831 was filed with the patent office on 2003-12-11 for systems and methods for delivering time sensitive messages over a distributed network.
Invention is credited to Malik, Dale W..
Application Number | 20030229668 10/165831 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 29710532 |
Filed Date | 2003-12-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030229668 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Malik, Dale W. |
December 11, 2003 |
Systems and methods for delivering time sensitive messages over a
distributed network
Abstract
A method for displaying content of a time-sensitive e-mail
message to a recipient, wherein the content displayed is based on
when the recipient opens the time-sensitive e-mail message. A
sender of the time-sensitive email message establishes content and
a rule set for delivering the e-mail message. The rule set contains
a predefined time limit for allowing the recipient of the
time-sensitive e-mail message to open it. If the recipient opens
the time-sensitive e-mail message within the predefined time limit,
the content within the e-mail is delivered to the recipient. If,
however, the recipient fails to open the time-sensitive e-mail
message within the predefined time limit, then the time-sensitive
e-mail message is either deleted from the recipient's mailbox or an
alternative message is displayed.
Inventors: |
Malik, Dale W.; (Atlanta,
GA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
THOMAS, KAYDEN, HORSTEMEYER & RISLEY, LLP
100 GALLERIA PARKWAY, NW
STE 1750
ATLANTA
GA
30339-5948
US
|
Family ID: |
29710532 |
Appl. No.: |
10/165831 |
Filed: |
June 7, 2002 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
709/206 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/107
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/206 |
International
Class: |
G06F 015/16 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A method for delivering a time-sensitive e-mail message to a
recipient, comprising: receiving the time-sensitive e-mail message,
the time-sensitive e-mail message having a rule set for delivering
the time-sensitive e-mail message and at least one set of content
for the e-mail message; extracting the rule set, from the
time-sensitive e-mail message, the rule set specifying a predefined
time limit; determining whether to provide the set of content to
the recipient based on when the recipient opened the time-sensitive
e-mail message before the predefined time limit; if the recipient
opened the time-sensitive e-mail message before the predefined time
limit, then providing the set of content of the time-sensitive
e-mail message to the recipient; and if the recipient has not
opened the time-sensitive e-mail message within the predefined time
limit, not providing the set of content to the recipient.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving and extracting
occurs at a message server for the Internet appliance of the
recipient.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the time-sensitive
email message comprises receiving an instant message.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the rule set for delivering the
time-sensitive e-mail message and at least one set of content for
the e-mail message is created from a drop-down menu associated with
a message client on an Internet appliance.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the rule set for delivering the
time-sensitive e-mail message and at least one set of content for
the e-mail message is embedded in the time-sensitive e-mail
message.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the rule set for delivering the
time-sensitive e-mail message and at least one set of content for
the e-mail message is embedded in the header of the time-sensitive
e-mail message.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein the rule set for delivering the
time-sensitive e-mail message and at least one set of content for
the e-mail message is embedded in the content of the time-sensitive
e-mail message.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a second
set of content; and providing the second set of content after the
predefined time limit has expired.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein not providing the set of content
to the recipient comprises deleting the time-sensitive e-mail
message.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the time-sensitive
email message comprises receiving the time-sensitive e-mail message
from a message server for a sender of the time-sensitive e-mail
message.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the
recipient opened the time-sensitive e-mail message before the
predefined time limit comprises determining if the time-sensitive
e-mail message has been delivered to the recipient.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the
recipient opened the time-sensitive e-mail message before the
predefined time limit comprises determining if the time-sensitive
e-mail message has been downloaded from a message server associated
with the recipient.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the
recipient opened the time-sensitive e-mail message before the
predefined time limit comprises determining if the time-sensitive
e-mail message has been opened by the recipient at an Internet
appliance of the recipient.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] Reference is made to co-pending patent application Ser. No.
______, filed on even-date herewith, with inventor Dale W. Malik,
entitled "Systems and Methods for Electronic Conferencing Over a
Distributed Network."
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates generally to transmitting
e-mail messages over a distributed network, and more particularly
to transmitting time-sensitive messages over a distributed
network.
BACKGROUND
[0003] The Internet is a worldwide network of distributed computers
that have the ability to communicate with each other. Because of
the ease to communicate with another person halfway around the
world, the Internet has gained widespread recognition as a viable
communications network, especially for businesses. The easiest and
most popular method of communicating with another individual over
the Internet is through the use of electronic mail, or "e-mail." To
generate an e-mail message, the sender typically selects the
recipient's e-mail address from a drop down list of available
users. The sender then inputs a message he/she wishes to send to
the recipient and forwards it onto an electronic message server at
the sender's Internet Service Provider ("ISP"). The ISP then
extracts the recipient's address from the e-mail message and
forwards it onto the message server of the recipient's ISP, where
it is stored until the recipient logs onto his or her Internet
appliance and retrieves the e-mail message.
[0004] However, as unread e-mail messages sit on the recipient's
message server, the e-mail messages age and their content may
become outdated or obsolete by the time the recipient opens his or
her e-mail messages. For example, an e-mail message inviting a
person to a conference at 11:00 a.m. becomes obsolete if the
recipient fails to read the e-mail message by 11:01 a.m. In this
circumstance, it would be helpful to alter the content of the
original message if the recipient does not open the e-mail message
by a specified date and time. Allowing the dated material to remain
unopened in the recipient's e-mail system not only wastes valuable
resources, but also decreases the productivity of the recipient by
cluttering his or her e-mail box with useless and obsolete
messages. The recipient has no way of knowing which messages are
obsolete and which message are relevant until they open each
message.
[0005] In other instances, electronic coupons have become a popular
method for retailers to advertise their products and increase
sales. Typically, retailers send electronic coupons that have a
sliding discount rate or become useless past the date of promotion.
That is, the longer the recipient waits to open and to use the
electronic coupon, the less the discount rate or potential for
usage. For example, as an incentive to generate business, a
retailer may send out an electronic coupon, which offers a discount
rate 50% off the retail price of an item if the coupon is opened
and used within one week of when it was sent. Once the week has
passed, the discount rate may drop to 10%. Normally, the retailer
would have to send out a second electronic coupon to those patrons
that did not redeem the first electronic coupon within the first
week. Unfortunately, sending multiple electronic coupons with
varying discount rates is both costly and time consuming for the
retailer and also consumes valuable computing resources.
Additionally, sending multiple electronic coupons can irritate the
customer. It would therefore, be more effective and less obtrusive
to send out a single electronic message that contains both levels
of the promotion and delivers only the promotion that is relevant
at the time the message is read.
[0006] Typical methods of regulating e-mail messages are based on
filtering e-mail messages received at the recipient's Internet
appliance or message server. In these methods, the recipient
establishes a rule set, which is stored on his or her message
server or e-mail application. For instance, the recipient may
establish rules to exclude all e-mail messages from a particular
Internet address or all e-mail messages having a specific content.
As an example, a filter may be set up on the message server to
block all unsolicited messages, or "Spam," that come from a known
IP address. Although these methods regulate which e-mail messages
are delivered to a particular user, these filter or blocking
methods are set up by the recipient. These methods do not allow the
sender to establish a rule set for determining how a recipient
views the content based on when the recipient opens his or her
e-mail message.
[0007] Thus, there is a need in the art for a method to deliver an
e-mail message to a recipient over a distributed network, wherein
the content of the message is based on how long the message remains
unread after it is sent to the recipient's Internet appliance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention is directed toward systems and methods
for altering the content of an e-mail message based on the time the
e-mail message has been sitting without being read in the
recipient's mail system. Generally described, a method according to
an embodiment of the invention is for transmitting an e-mail
message to a recipient containing time-sensitive content, based on
when the recipient opens the e-mail message. More particularly
described, a method is for delivering time-sensitive e-mail
messages to a recipient. First, the sender of an e-mail message
establishes a rule set for delivering the time-sensitive e-mail
message. Next, the sender creates at least one message, or content
for the e-mail message. The sender then transmits the e-mail
message to a message server. Once the message server receives the
e-mail message, the rule set is typically extracted from the header
of the e-mail message. The content of the e-mail message is then
placed in a mailbox associated with the recipient. The rule set
contains a predefined time limit for allowing the recipient of the
e-mail message to retrieve or open the message and any associated
linkages contained in the message. If the recipient opens the
e-mail message within the predefined time limit, the content of the
e-mail message is displayed. If, however, the recipient fails to
open or retrieve the e-mail message from his or her mailbox, then
the e-mail message is either deleted from the recipient's mailbox
or an alternative message is displayed based on the rule set
supplied by the sender.
[0009] A system according to an embodiment of the invention is for
facilitating the delivery of a time-sensitive e-mail message
between a sender and a recipient. The system contains a message
server that is capable of receiving the time-sensitive e-mail
message from the sender, which contains at least one message, or
content, and a rule set that governs the delivery of the content to
the recipient. The message server also contains an e-mail message
application program, which extracts the rule set from the
time-sensitive e-mail message. The e-mail message application
program retrieves a predefined time limit for allowing the
recipient to open the e-mail message and sets a timer to the
predetermined time limit. The message server then stores the
time-sensitive e-mail message in a mailbox associated with the
recipient. The e-mail message application program then determines
whether the recipient opened or received the e-mail message within
the predefined time limit. If the recipient opened the e-mail
message within the predefined time limit the e-mail message
application program displays the content of the e-mail message in
accordance with the rule set to the recipient.
[0010] That the invention improves over the drawbacks of electronic
mail systems and methods and addresses the advantages described
above will become apparent from the following detailed description
of the exemplary embodiments and the appended drawings and
claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and
form a part of the specification, illustrate preferred embodiments
of the present invention and, together with the description,
disclose the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
[0012] FIG. 1 is an illustration of a system according to an
embodiment of the present invention for sending time-sensitive
e-mail messages between a sender and a recipient.
[0013] FIGS. 2A and 2B, collectively known as FIG. 2, are logic
flow diagrams illustrating a method of transmitting one of several
e-mail messages based on the time sensitivity of delivering the
e-mail message.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] FIG. 1 is an illustration of a typical Internet Service
Provider (ISP) network according to an embodiment of the present
invention for sending time-sensitive e-mail messages between a
sender 105 registered with a first Internet Service Provider 100
and a recipient 125 registered with a second Internet Service
Provider 117. While the invention will be described with reference
to two ISPs 100 and 117, it should be understood that the systems
and methods according to the invention may be used with just one
ISP or with more than two ISPs.
[0015] The sender 105 creates a time-sensitive e-mail message using
a message client 107 on his or her Internet appliance 110 to send
to the recipient 125. Normally, the Internet appliance 110 will be
a personal computer. However, those skilled in the art will
appreciate that the Internet appliance 110 may be any device that
is capable of sending and receiving email messages, such as a
Web-enabled cellular telephone, a Blackberry.RTM., a pager, a
personal digital assistant (PDA), a pager, or the like.
Furthermore, for purposes of this application, a time-sensitive
e-mail message is defined as any e-mail message that contains
content that becomes obsolete or which the sender 105 wishes to
alter after a predefined amount of time has elapsed.
[0016] The sender 105 also establishes a rule set using the message
client 107 at the time he or she creates the e-mail message. The
rule set is used to determine whether and how the content of
time-sensitive e-mail message is presented to the recipient 125. As
a result, the rule set may contain instructions to delete the
time-sensitive e-mail message if the time-sensitive e-mail message
remains unread after a certain period of time or to display an
alternate e-mail message with alternative content if the recipient
125 has not opened the first time-sensitive e-mail message within a
predefined time limit. For example, the sender 105 may whish to
know the answer to a particular question to present to a client at
a meeting within an hour. The sender 105 may send an e-mail message
to a colleague back at the office asking for the answer to the
question. However, if the sender's colleague does not answer the
e-mail message, for whatever reason, before the client meeting,
then there is no reason to keep the e-mail message sent to the
colleague. Therefore, the sender 105 may embed a rule within the
e-mail message to delete the e-mail message from the message server
if the colleague does not open it within one hour.
[0017] Once the sender 105 has composed the time-sensitive e-mail
message and included the rule set for delivering the message, the
time-sensitive email message is forwarded to a message server 115
with ISP 100. The message server 115 then performs the appropriate
routing instructions to reach the intended recipient's message
server 118. When the time-sensitive e-mail message is forwarded to
the message server 115, the message server 115 determines if the
time-sensitive e-mail message needs to be forwarded to another
message server and, if so, transfers the time-sensitive message to
the message server, such as to message server 118.
[0018] When the message server 118 receives the e-mail message, it
launches an e-mail message application 119 to determine whether the
time-sensitive e-mail message contains a time-based header embedded
in the subject field of the message. Although the time-based header
is described as being embedded in the subject field of the message,
those skilled in the art will appreciate that the time-based header
may be embedded in other portions of the time-sensitive e-mail
message as appropriately configured between the message client 107
that creates it and the e-mail message application 119 that
interprets it.
[0019] The e-mail message application 119 examines the header of
the time-sensitive e-mail message to determine how the message
should be marked for storage and eventual retrieval and deletion.
Each time-sensitive e-mail message is placed in a folder within the
recipient's mailbox and is marked with a date and time stamp. The
time-sensitive e-mail message remains on the message server 118
until the recipient downloads it, or the e-mail message application
119 deletes it once the time for the recipient to retrieve the
time-sensitive e-mail messages has expired. The e-mail message
application 119 typically examines the time-sensitive e-mail
messages on a periodic basis to determine whether any of the
time-sensitive e-mail messages that contain time-sensitive content
have been marked for time expiration. For example, the e-mail
message application 119 may run on an hourly basis seeking to
review the folders that have been marked for time expiration at
that moment. The e-mail message application 119 may operate more
frequently, such as every minute or at other intervals of time. Any
time-sensitive e-mail messages that are marked for deletion are
removed at that time. In addition, some of the time-sensitive
messages may be chained to other messages that will succeed them.
Information about chained messages is included in the embedded
header. An example of the embedded header is shown below.
[0020] Subject:.backslash.message ID/.backslash.Start
Date/Time/.backslash.Stop Date/Time/.backslash.# of correlated
messages/.backslash.sequence of this message/.backslash.Subject to
be displayed/
[0021] The message ID field is used to identify the message and
correlate additional messages. The "Start Date/Time" field contains
the date stamp and time stamp of when the message server 118
received the time-sensitive e-mail message. The "Stop Date/Time"
field contains a date stamp and time stamp that corresponds to the
date and time to when the time-sensitive email message should be
removed from the message server 118. The "# of correlated messages"
field contains a value equal to the number of e-mail messages that
are related to the same subject. For instance, if the sender 105
only composed one e-mail message, this field would contain the
value "1." However, if two messages were being sent, the embedded
header would include a designation of "2" in the "# of correlated
messages" field to indicate that there are 2 related messages.
Next, the "sequence of this message" field contains a value that
corresponds to the order in which the email message should be
presented to the recipient, if more than one correlated message is
sent. Finally, the "Subject to be displayed" field contains a text
message that is presented to the recipient.
[0022] As an example, a time-sensitive e-mail may contain an
advertisement for a one day sale by retailer. The corresponding
embedded header for the advertisement may look like:
[0023] Subject:.backslash.5789/.backslash.5-29-02, 11:00
am/.backslash.5-30-02, 11:00
am/.backslash.1/.backslash.1/.backslash.One Day Sale at Macy's, May
30, 2002/
[0024] In the above example, the one-day sale promotion will be
delivered no earlier than May 29, 2002 at 11:00 a.m. and no later
than May 30, 2002 at 11:00 a.m. If the e-mail message is sent prior
to May 29, 2002, the e-mail message application 119 stores the
pending e-mail message in a date and time stamp folder on the
message server 118, which corresponds to the Start Date/Time field
in the embedded header. Then at 11:00 a.m. on May 29, 2002, the
e-mail message application 119 would move the e-mail message to a
date and time stamped folder in the recipient's mailbox. Once the
recipient 125 logs onto the message server 118, the message client
122 will download the appropriate e-mail message from the
recipient's mailbox, if one still exists.
[0025] Normally, most time-sensitive e-mail messages will contain a
single predefined time limit. However, there is no limit to the
number of predefined time limits that the sender 105 may include in
the rule set.
[0026] As mentioned above, in addition to deleting a time-sensitive
e-mail message, the sender 105 may prefer that an alternative
message be displayed to the recipient 125 after the expiry of the
time period. In the example provided above, the sender 105 sent an
e-mail advertising a One Day Sale at Macy's. The sender 105 may
alternatively have sent two e-mails with the following headers:
[0027] Subject:.backslash.5789/.backslash.5-29-02, 11:00
am/.backslash.5-30-02, 11:00
am/.backslash.2/.backslash.1/.backslash.One Day Sale at Macy's, May
30, 2002/
[0028] Subject:.backslash.5789/.backslash.5-30-02, 11:00
am/.backslash.5-31-02, 11:00
am/.backslash.1/.backslash.2/.backslash.Afte- r Sale Clearance at
Macy's, May 31, 2002/
[0029] As shown in these two exemplary headers, the first e-mail
notifies the recipient 125 of a One Day Sale at Macy's on May 30,
2002. If the recipient 125 does not retrieve or open the e-mail by
May 30, 2002, at 11:00 a.m., then the message server 118 will make
the second e-mail available to the recipient 125. The message
server 118 automatically deletes the second email if the recipient
125 does not retrieve or open the e-mail between 11 a.m. on May 30,
2002, and 11:00 a.m. on May 31, 2002. With this example, if the
recipient 125 does open or retrieve the first e-mail, then the
message server 118 will delete the second e-mail. The message
server 119 can easily determine that a second e-mail exists because
the header has "2" in the field for the number of correlated
messages. To locate the second e-mail, the message server 119 looks
for another e-mail having the same message ID of "5789" and which
has "2" in the "sequence of message" field. As should be apparent,
the message server 119 would seek a third e-mail having the same
message ID of "5789" and which has "3" in the "sequence of message"
field if the headers of the e-mails had "3" in the field for the
number of correlated messages.
[0030] In addition to either deleting the time-sensitive e-mail
message or displaying an alternative content, the sender 105 may
establish a rule set that instructs the message server 115 to
direct the time-sensitive e-mail message to a particular Internet
appliance 120 at a particular time during the day. For example, if
the recipient 125 has multiple Internet appliances, such as a PC, a
PDA, and a cellular telephone registered with the ISP, the sender
105 may establish a rule set that instructs the message server 118
to deliver the time-sensitive e-mail message to a particular
Internet appliance 120 at a particular time. For instance, the
sender 105 may establish a rule set to first attempt to deliver the
time-sensitive e-mail message to the recipient's PC between 10:00
a.m. and 12:00 p.m. If the time-sensitive e-mail message is not
opened during that time the rules may instruct the message server
115 to attempt to deliver the time-sensitive e-mail message to the
recipient's PDA between 12:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., and if the
time-sensitive e-mail message is still unopened, then to the
recipient's cellular telephone between 6:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.
Establishing a set of logic rules for the delivery of
time-sensitive e-mail messages allows the sender 105 greater
flexibility in directing the delivery of time-sensitive e-mail
messages in a manner that increases productivity while reducing the
consumption of computer resources.
[0031] The embedded header may be modified to include the IP
address of the appropriate Internet appliances along with the date
and time in which the time-sensitive e-mail message will be
available to the particular Internet appliances. An example of such
a header is as follows:
[0032] Subject:.backslash.message ID/.backslash.Start
Date/Time/.backslash.Stop Date/Time/.backslash.# of correlated
messages/.backslash.sequence of this message/.backslash.Subject to
be displayed/.backslash.No. of Internet
Appliances/.backslash.Sequence of Internet
Appliances/.backslash.Start Date/Time for First Internet
Appliance/.backslash.Stop Date/Time for First Internet
Appliance/.backslash.Start Date/Time for Second Internet
Appliance/.backslash.Stop Date/Time for Second Internet Appliance/
. . .
[0033] where the "No. of Internet Appliances" field contains a
value equal to the number of Internet appliances that the sender
wishes to send the time-sensitive e-mail message, the "Sequence of
Internet Appliances" field contains the IP addresses of the each
Internet appliance in the order in which the time-sensitive e-mail
message should be sent, the "Start Date/Time for first Internet
Appliance" and "Stop Date/Time for first Internet Appliance" fields
specify the period of time that the time-sensitive e-mail message
should sent to the first Internet device, and the "Start Date/Time
for Second Internet Appliance" and the "Stop Date/Time for the
Second Internet Appliance" field specify the period of time that
the time-sensitive e-mail message should sent to the second
Internet device. The "message ID," "Start Date/Time," "Stop
Date/Time," "# of correlated messages," "sequence of this message,"
and "Subject to be displayed" fields are described above. While
this exemplary header only lists two Internet devices, the headers
may include additional number of Internet devices.
[0034] Although the method according to the present invention is
described as being used within an e-mail message system, the method
of the present invention may be used in conjunction with any
electronic messaging systems, such as an IM system. The systems may
also be used with the Universal Instant Messaging system fully
described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. ______, entitled
"Instant Messaging Architecture and System for Interoperability and
Presence Management," filed Apr. 29, 2002, and hereby incorporated
by reference.
[0035] FIGS. 2A and 2B collectively known as FIG. 2, show a logic
flow diagram illustrating a routine 200 for establishing a rule set
in a time-sensitive e-mail message. Routine 200 begins at 205 in
which the sender 105 establishes a rule set for the delivery of the
time-sensitive e-mail message to a recipient 125. The rule set is
established at the time the e-mail message is created. Typically,
the rule set is embedded into the header of the e-mail message.
However, the rule set may be embedded anywhere within the e-mail
message, such as at the beginning of the actual text message or at
the end of the text message. To facilitate the creation of the
rules, the message client 107 may display the available rules in a
drop-down menu that the sender 105 may graphically select using the
standard point-and-click method. Although a drop-down menu allows
the sender 105 to easily establish the rule set for the delivery of
the e-mail message, other methods, such as a pop-up box of a
command line, may be used to create the applicable rule set in the
time-sensitive e-mail message. The rule set may include a
predefined time limit to allow the recipient 125 to open the
time-sensitive e-mail message, instructions to delete the
time-sensitive e-mail message, instructions to display an
alternative content, list of Internet appliances, sequencing of
messages, and the like.
[0036] Once the sender 105 has established a rule set for
delivering the time-sensitive e-mail message to the recipient 125,
the sender 105 then creates the content for the time-sensitive
e-mail message. Although, the exemplary embodiment has described
the alternative content being presented if a single predefined time
limit has passed, those skilled in the art will appreciate that any
number of alternative messages may be placed within the
time-sensitive e-mail message.
[0037] At 210, the time-sensitive e-mail message, along with the
embedded rules are transmitted to the message server 115 at the
sender's ISP 100. If the recipient 125 is registered with the ISP
100, then the message server 115 maintains the e-mail message. On
the other hand, if the recipient 125 has another ISP, such as ISP
117, then the message server 115 forwards the time-sensitive e-mail
message to the message server 116 of the ISP 117.
[0038] At 215, the e-mail message application 119 at the ISP 117
examines the embedded header and extracts the start time and date
information, as well as other relevant information in the header.
At 220, the e-mail message application 119 determines whether the
e-mail message was sent prior to the date and time contained in the
embedded header. The e-mail message application 119 compares the
value stored in the Start Date/Time field in the embedded header
with the value returned by an internal calendar/clock associated
with the message server 118. If the value stored in the Start
Date/Time field is greater than the value returned by the internal
calendar/clock, then the "YES" branch is followed to 225.
[0039] At 225, the time-sensitive e-mail message is temporarily
stored in a date/time stamped folder on the message server 118. The
time-sensitive email message remains in the date/time stamped
folder until the internal calendar/clock matches the date/time
stamp of the folder. Once the date/time of the internal
calendar/clock matches the date/time stamp of the folder holding
the time-sensitive e-mail message, the e-mail message application
119 moves the time-sensitive e-mail message to another date/time
stamped folder in the recipient's mailbox at 230. The e-mail
message application 119 continually monitors the date/time stamp
folders on the message server 118 for messages that need to be
moved to the recipient's mailbox. The time-sensitive-e-mail message
remains in the date/time stamped folder until the recipient 125
downloads it from the mailbox to the message client 122.
[0040] At 235, the determination is made whether the recipient
downloaded the time-sensitive e-mail message before value of the
time/date stamp of the folder expired. If the recipient downloaded
the message within the appropriate time limits, the "YES" branch is
followed to 240, in which the first message of the time-sensitive
e-mail message is displayed to the recipient.
[0041] However, if the time-sensitive e-mail message was not
downloaded by the date specified by the date/time stamp of the
folder in the recipient's mailbox, the "NO" branch is followed to
245, in which a determination is made whether there is more than
one message associated with the time-sensitive e-mail message. The
e-mail message application 119 checks the "#of correlated messages"
field in the header of the e-mail to determine if the value is
greater than 1. If the determination is made by the e-mail message
application 119 at 245 that there was only one message sent in the
time-sensitive e-mail message, then the "NO" branch is followed to
255 where e-mail message application 119 deletes the message from
the recipient's mailbox. If the value in the "#of correlated
messages" field is greater than 1, then there is at least one
alternative message and the "YES" branch is followed back to 220.
At 220, the e-mail message application 119 determines whether this
next e-mail message was sent prior to the date and time contained
in the embedded header.
[0042] Returning to step 235, if the determination is made by the
e-mail message application 119 that the time-sensitive e-mail
message was opened before the time specified in the "Stop
Date/Time" field in the header, then the "YES" branch is followed
to 240, in which the e-mail message application 119 provides the
first e-mail message to the recipient 125 and discards any
additional messages that may have been sent with the time-sensitive
e-mail message.
[0043] The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of
the invention has been presented only for the purpose of
illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive
or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many
modifications and variations are possible in light of the above
teaching.
[0044] The embodiments were chosen and described in order to
explain the principles of the invention and their practical
application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize
the invention and various embodiments and with various
modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
* * * * *